UW Health, Children’s Wisconsin stop providing gender-affirming care to minors amid threat of losing funding

MADISON, Wis. (CIVIC MEDIA) – Two of Wisconsin’s biggest healthcare providers have stopped gender-affirming care for minors because of changes from the Trump administration. 

Last month, the federal Department of Health and Human Services announced plans to block Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement to hospitals that offer gender-affirming treatments to kids. 

Pretty much all hospitals participate in the federal programs. A big chunk of their income comes from Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement. According to a report from Definitive Healthcare, more than 32% of hospitals’ revenue is from Medicaid and Medicare. 

Now, UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin have stopped providing hormone and puberty-blocking treatments. 

Staff from UW Health confirmed the change to Civic Media. 

UW Health is committed to providing high-quality, compassionate and patient-centered care to our patients and families, including LGBTQ+ patients. Due to recent federal actions, UW Health is pausing prescribing puberty blockers and hormone therapy as part of gender affirming care for patients under 18 years of age. We recognize the uncertainty faced by our impacted patients and families seeking this gender affirming care and will continue to support their health and well-being. 

A spokesperson for Children’s Wisconsin told WPR they can’t offer this care anymore because of “escalating legal and federal regulatory risk”. 

Data shows gender-affirming treatments like hormones and puberty blockers are very rarely used, but advocates contend they’re life-saving for those who need them. 

Analysis by Reuters and Komodo Health shows only about .01% of the insured population received gender-affirming care during childhood. They looked at data from more than 330,000,000 insured Americans from 2017 to 2021. 

Data published by the National Institutes of Health shows 82% of trans people have considered suicide, and 40% have attempted it. The Trevor Project reports that access to gender-affirming care reduces the risk of suicide. A study from Stanford shows that trans people who had access to hormones during childhood had better mental health as adults.